The first event of Bellator
Fighting Championships’ 2012 Summer Series has a date, a venue
and a host of light heavyweight contenders to occupy its next
205-pound bracket.

The promotion announced Monday that
Bellator 71 will take place at the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack
and Resort in Chester, W. Va., on June 22 and will include the
quarterfinals of the Summer Series light heavyweight
tournament.

A Titans MMA representative, Hollett will carry a five-fight
winning streak into his matchup with Vegh. The Canadian last
appeared at Bellator 57, earning a split-decision victory against
John
Hawk. Vegh, a veteran of Poland’s KSW, is a 14-time Hungarian
Kenpo karate champion. He has finished 19 of his 24 career
victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Hale has competed four times under the Bellator banner, defeating
Nik
Fekete, D.J.
Linderman and Carlos
Flores while falling to M’Pumbu in the Season 4 light
heavyweight tournament final. Tribolet, a native of Phoenix, has
been defeated just once in eight professional bouts. Most recently,
he topped two-time UFC veteran Chase
Gormley via first-round TKO in August.

A 24-year-old native of Porvoo, Finland, Vanttinen has been
victorious in 12 of his last 13 outings. His lone defeat during
that time came at the hands of fellow quarterfinalist Vegh via
unanimous decision in May. Lins trains with the Nova Uniao Kimura
camp and is unbeaten in five fights, with only one of those
victories going the distance. He owns two notable triumphs over
former UFC talent Antonio
Mendes.

Wiuff already owns a victory over M’Pumbu, having secured a
three-round verdict against the 205-pound title holder last
October. The 81-fight veteran last appeared at Bellator 60, where
he took a unanimous decision from Anthony
Gomez.

The Bellator 71 main card will be broadcast on MTV2 beginning at 8
p.m. ET, while the preliminary bouts will be aired on Spike.com
starting at 7 p.m. ET.

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